Master of Public Health (MPH)...indigenous health care systems as knowledge systems on their own merit, i.e. with their own ways of knowing, knowledge production and value systems;

American University of Sovereign Nations – Master of Public Health (MPH) (Revised June 2020) www.ausovereignnations.org

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Master of Public Health (MPH) The Master of Public Health (MPH) program is a master’s degree program intended to provide academically qualified individuals who are dedicated to enhancing the health status and quality of life all global communities, the basic competent knowledge and creative and critical-thinking ability to improve public health.

The MPH program is organized around six core disciplines of public health: Public Health Ethics, Health Policy and Management, Social and Behavioral Sciences, Environmental Health Science, Biostatistics, and Epidemiology. Knowledge and skills in these disciplines equip the graduate to analyze and consider solutions to public health problems at the community, institutional, and societal levels. The course has a discipline-specific competency

emphasis on healthcare management, consistent with the interdisciplinary and cross-cutting competencies of the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) model. The detailed description of the courses is in the AUSN Catalog.

Mission To advance the public health of all peoples and populations, by providing essential competent graduate education, knowledge, skills, research, service, creative, and analytical critical thinking ability and leadership to those graduate students who are dedicated to enhancing the health status and quality of life of all global communities.

Vision To be the Master of Public Health degree program of choice for those individuals who are committed to community and global leadership and are dedicated to preventing disease, promoting health, and protecting the well-being of the public of all nations and all peoples. The instructional goal of MPH program is to offer excellent


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educational and academic training and develop students to become superior professionals, capable of integrating and skillfully applying basic public health knowledge in performing the “Ten Essential Services of Public Health” as originally created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Core Public Health Functions Steering Committee, and U.S. Public Health Service.

“Ten Essential Services of Public Health” In order to promote and provide a working definition of public health and a guiding framework for the responsibilities of public health specialists and systems, MPH Program supports and provides educational instruction in the “Ten Essential Services of Public Health,” as originally created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Core Public Health Functions Steering Committee, and the U.S. Public Health Service, which include the following responsibilities:

1. To monitor health status to identify and solve community health problems. 2. To diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the

community. 3. To inform, educate, and empower people about health issues. 4. To mobilize community partnerships and action to identify and solve health

problems. 5. To develop policies and plans that support individual and community health

goals and efforts. 6. To enforce laws and regulations that protect health and ensure safety. 7. To link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of

health care when otherwise unavailable. 8. To assure a skilled and competent public health care workforce. 9. To evaluate effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-

based health services. 10. To research for new insights and apply innovative solutions to health problems.

Values As public health is complex and inherently multi-disciplinary and concerns the practice of preventing and managing disease, promoting good health within groups of people, and advancing healthcare access and health care for all peoples, the values that guide the MPH Program include the following:

• To increase the awareness of public health as a public good and fundamental right.

• To promote diversity in culture and political thought. • To treat all people with respect and to promote intercultural understanding. • To promote academic excellence and the pursuit of truth. • To promote human rights, fundamental freedoms, peace, and the sense of

human dignity and human respect of all peoples.


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• To promote and protect the human rights of all human research subjects of experimentation.

• To promote the covenants and tenants of the World Health Organization (WHO), especially inclusive of:

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” “The enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.” “The health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security and is dependent upon the fullest co-operation of individuals and States.” “Unequal development in different countries in the promotion of health and control of disease, especially communicable disease, is a common danger.”

Purpose Upon successful completion of the MPH Program and mastery of its required competencies, graduates will be prepared to work in the field of public health and influence and improve community health outcomes by working for public health agencies, non-governmental organizations, hospitals, medical centers, clinics, nursing

homes, and rehabilitation centers. Further, as a course designed for both fresh graduates and existing professionals (e.g., R.N., M.D., J.D., hospital administrators, healthcare CEOs, etc.), the MPH program will enhance the career goals and aspirations of students who will benefit from the added knowledge and expertise with respect to public health, the health management of populations, and the health management of such public health institutions.

Curriculum To complete the MPH program, students must satisfy the MPH course curriculum, which requires a minimum of 32 semester credit hours. The MPH program can be completed by either full-time or part-time study, and accordingly, can be completed within one to two years of study (480 clock hours of instruction).


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Compulsory Courses (23 credit hours) • Essentials of Community Health (3 credit hours) • Essentials of Environmental Health (3 credit hours) • Essentials of Public Health (3 credit hours) • Healthcare Management (3 credit hours) • Master’s Thesis and Public Defense (6 credit hours) • Public Health Law, Ethics and Policy Analysis (3 credit hours) • Public Health Preparedness and Bioterrorism (2 credit hours)

Elective Courses (select at least 9 credit hours) • Applied Public Health Research Seminar (2 credit hours) • Applied Bioethics Research Seminar (2 credit hours) • Bioethics and Values Education (3 credit hours) • Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Public Health (3 credit hours) • Essentials of Health Behavior (3 credit hours) • Global Public Health and Peace (2 credit hours) • Healthcare Finance and Economics (2 credit hours) • Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Health Care (3 credit hours) • Indigenous Traditions and Bioethics (3 credit hours)

Required Core Competencies Upon graduation, all MPH students will have the following core competencies as they relate to the various public health disciplines specified by the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) in its Education Committee Report on the Core Competency Model Development Project for the Master of Public Health degree. AUSN MPH graduates shall have sufficiently mastered the public health core competencies such that they will be able to:

I. Public Health Ethics 1. Describe the legal and ethical bases for public health and health services. 2. Apply basic principles of ethical analysis to issues of public health practice and

policy. 3. Describe the roles of history, power, privilege and structural inequality in

producing health disparities. 4. Identify the ethical, social and legal issues implied by public health

biology/sciences. 5. Distinguish between population and individual ethical considerations in relation

to the benefits, costs, and burdens of public health programs.


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6. Comprehend basic ethical and legal principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of epidemiologic data

II. Health Policy and Management 1. Describe the legal and ethical bases for public health and health services. 2. Discuss the policy process for improving the health status of populations. 3. Apply principles of strategic planning and marketing to public health. 4. Apply quality and performance improvement concepts to address

organizational performance issues. 5. Apply "systems thinking" for resolving organizational problems. 6. Identify the main components and issues of the organization, financing and

delivery of health services and public health systems in the US. 7. Explain methods of ensuring community health safety and preparedness.

III. Social and Behavioral Sciences 1. Identify the role of social and community factors in both the onset and solution

of public health problems. 2. Examine racial and ethnic disparities within the context of historic and

contemporary social and economic climates 3. Recognize the causes of social and behavioral factors that affect health of

individuals and populations. 4. Discuss sentinel events in the history and development of the public health

profession and their relevance for practice in the field. 5. Understand the causes of disparities in disease risk, access and utilization of

preventive and health care services and health outcomes. 6. Identify basic theories, concepts and models from a range of social and

behavioral disciplines that are used in public health research and practice. 7. Describe steps and procedures for the planning of social and behavioral

interventions and policies. 8. Identify multiple targets and levels of intervention for social and behavioral

science programs and/or policies. 9. Identify individual, organizational and community concerns, assets, resources

and deficits for social and behavioral science interventions. 10. Apply evidence-based approaches in the development and evaluation of social

and behavioral science assessments and interventions. 11. Explain the role of biology in the ecological model of population-based health. 12. Explain how genetics and genomics affect disease processes and public health

policy and practice.

IV. Environmental Health Science 1. Describe the direct and indirect human, ecological, and safety effects of major

environmental and occupational agents. 2. Specify approaches for assessing, preventing, and controlling environmental

hazards that pose risks to human health and safety.


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3. Describe genetic, physiologic, and psychosocial factors that affect susceptibility to adverse health outcomes following exposure to environmental hazards.

4. Specify current environmental risk assessment methods. 5. Explain the general mechanisms of toxicity in eliciting a toxic response to

various environmental exposures. 6. Describe federal and state regulatory programs, guidelines, and authorities that

control environmental health issues.

V. Epidemiology 1. Explain the importance of epidemiology for informing scientific, ethical,

economic, and political discussion of health issues. 2. Identify key sources of epidemiologic data and comprehend basic ethical and

legal principles pertaining to the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of epidemiologic data.

3. Identify the principles and limitations of public health screening programs, including the evaluation of validity and reliability of screening tests.

4. Describe epidemiologic study designs and assess their strengths and limitations.

5. Describe a public health problem in terms of person, time and place. 6. Apply the basic terminology and definitions of epidemiology. 7. Calculate basic epidemiology measures, including risk, rate, incidence, and

prevalence. 8. Draw appropriate inferences from epidemiologic data. 9. Communicate epidemiologic information to lay and professional audiences.

VI. Biostatistics 1. Describe the role biostatistics serves in the discipline of public health. 2. Identify vital statistics and other key data sources, and apply descriptive

techniques commonly used to summarize public health data. 3. Describe basic concepts of probability, random variation and commonly used

statistical probability distributions. 4. Apply common statistical methods for inference and specify methodological

alternatives to commonly used statistical methods when assumptions are not met.

5. Understand analysis of basic study designs and apply descriptive and inferential methodologies accordingly to answer a particular research question.

6. Interpret results of statistical analyses found in public health studies.

VII. Peace 1. Understand the main structural and psycho-cultural theories about the cause of

conflict and methods to overcome this. 2. Be aware of the options for intervention, and the theories behind different

conflict resolution approaches. 3. Understand the linkages between public health and peace.


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Syllabus of Compulsory Courses

Essentials of Community Health (ESCH) (3 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to provide the student with the essential principles and foundations of community health and to understand its relation to public health. The objectives of this course include that the student gain a working understanding of the principles of community health and to understand its role in the general public health arena. Subjects: 1. Ableism and people of different abilities 2. Moral agents, communities and animals 3. Public heath, community health, justice, medical ethics 4. Autonomy and communities 5. Health care systems, justice and community health 6. Definition of death, organ transplants 7. Ethical issues in medical research, Ethics committees 8. Communities over history 9. Euthanasia, end-of-life care, elderly 10. Maternal, infant, child health and reproduction 11. Gender theory and gender roles; Gender toolkit 12. Community health and minorities. Genetics and behavior; ELSI issues

Essentials of Environmental Health (ESEH) (3 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to provide the student with the essential principles and foundations of environmental health from a public health perspective. The objectives of this course include that the student gain a working understanding of the principles of the environment and environmental public health. Subjects: 1. Ecology; biodiversity, environmental sciences 2. Sustainable development and health 3. Environmental ethics 4. Love of nature and ecological ethics 5. Biodiversity ethics; includes ways of valuing biodiversity; health impacts 6. Universalism and UN environment principles 7. Health, externalities and animal intensification 8. Health and environmental impacts of science and technology 9. Health and equity; impacts of climate change 10. Community engagement methods related to mining, energy production, clean-up of polluted sites 11. Water pollution, quality and health 12. Health and recombinant DNA technology 13. Occupational safety and environmental health


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Essentials of Public Health (ESPH) (3 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to provide the student with the essential principles and foundations of public health so that the student can understand the field of public health and how it works through federal, state and local public health systems. It provides the student with the concepts and tools for measuring health and disease in populations, characterizing the relationship of the public health system with medical care and other elements of the overall health system. The objectives of this course include that the student gain a working understanding of the principles of public health and how they interrelate and interact with a general overall healthcare system and medical care system; and to learn the basics of epidemiology, and the study of health and diseases with respect to populations so that effective interventions may be undertaken. Subjects: 1. Public health ethics 2. What is public health? 3. A brief history of public health 4. Understanding and measuring health 5. An ecological approach to public health 6. Public health and the health system 7. Public health law and government 8. Indigenous Peoples and public health 9. Global public health 10. Economic dimensions of health outcomes 11. Public health practice profile and their important and essential duties 12. Regulating public health and professional codes 13. Public health worker ethics 14. Infectious disease, quarantine, ethics and law 15. Infectious disease and disease prevention 16. Bioterrorism preparedness

Healthcare Management (HCMT) (3 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to provide the student with the an understanding of the various finance mechanisms used in healthcare today and to understand the basic economic principles relative to the healthcare market and as it relates to public health. The objective of this course is to present to the student a general framework and understanding of the pertinent issues related to healthcare management both in a profit and non-profit setting. Subjects: 1. Health care management and standards of care 2. Health governance procedures; historical development of human research protection; Ethics committees 3. Organizational behavior and management thinking; Ethics committees 4. Health management capacity building and training, including educating ethics committees


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5. Human experimentation and regulations (HHS, FDA, EU, WHO), Institutional Review Boards 6. Informed consent, waivers, vulnerable populations 7. Social sciences and anthropology ethics 8. Conflicts of interest 9. Health system management in cities 10. Quality of healthcare 11. Organizational ethics and the law 12. Medical error

Master’s Thesis and Public Defense (MTHE) (6 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to prepare the student for writing and presenting a dissertation of approximately 20,000 words. Great care and detail is taken to review and explain thoroughly the design, organization, research, detailed literature bibliography, conclusions, recommendations, and final preparation of the dissertation. The objective of this course is to have the student complete preparation of their MPH dissertation and to successfully conduct the Public Defense of their dissertation. Content: A wide variety of relevant academic papers and papers are reviewed to explore comparative methodologies in research, and students listen to other student’s defenses to help prepare for their own defense.

Public Health Law, Ethics and Policy Analysis (PHLE) (3 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to present the student the essential principles of public health law, public health ethics, and health policy, and for the student to understand their critical nature and application in general public health. The objective of this course is to present to the student a general framework of public law, ethics and health policy analysis, and to understand the integration of both public health issues and the law into policy making. Subjects: 1. Introduction to public health law, ethics and policy analysis 2. Bioethics across cultures and religions 3. Health care system 4. Pharmaceutical ethics 5. Education of bioethics and public health law ethics 6. Health law and the legal system 7. Patient consent 8. Tropical disease burden and community engagement, e.g. Vector control 9. Infectious disease and professional responsibility to care; Employee rights and

responsibilities 10. Organ distribution 11. End of life care 12. Disaster medicine and ethics 13. Mental health ethics 14. Eugenics and Social Darwinism abuses


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15. Indigenous bioethics 16. Islamic bioethics 17. Conflict of Interest 18. Patient abuses in research and patient protection 19. Specialty medical ethics 20. Ethics and public health 21. Health Care Ethics Committee dilemmas

Public Health Preparedness and Bioterrorism (PHPB) (2 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to present to the student the essential principles of public health emergencies; community preparedness and the public health system; and bio-terrorism. The objective of this course is to enable the student to appreciate and understand the important interrelating principles which must come into play during a modern day public health emergency as related to community preparedness, the public health system; and bio-terrorism. Subjects: 1. Introduction to science, technology and philosophy 2. Ethics of science and scientific responsibility; status of scientific Researchers 3. Science and technology over time and culture 4. Biological Weapons Convention 5. Biosafety and dual use dilemmas 6. Recombinant DNA technology 7. Synthetic biology 8. Case studies of epidemics and pandemics

Syllabus of Elective Courses

Applied Bioethics Research Seminar (ABRS) (2 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to help develop research ability in the students so they can apply the theories they learn to actual practice. The objective of this course is for the student to learn how to apply research skills, and how to evaluate their research. Subjects: 1. Introduction to the scientific method and scientific ethics 2. Making and evaluating hypotheses 3. Discourse and presentation skills 4. How to obtain ethical approval for research 5. How to evaluate and publish results of research

Applied Public Health Research Seminar (APHS) (2 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to help develop research ability in the students so they can apply the theories they learn to actual practice.


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The objective of this course is for the student to learn how to apply research skills, and how to evaluate their research. Subjects: 1. Introduction to selected issues in public health and scientific method 2. Making and evaluating hypotheses 3. Discourse and presentation skills 4. How to obtain ethical approval for research 5. How to evaluate and publish results of research

Bioethics and Values Education (BVED) (3 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to examine the methodology, goals, practice and evaluation of bioethics and values education. The objective of this course is to introduce the goals of bioethics education in the context of values education, through all stages of moral development. Subjects: 1. Values in education 2. Integration of ethics and values into all fields of education 3. Teaching about autonomy and justice through bioethics: the love of life 4. Indicators of the success of education 5. Neurology, touch, education and multilingual brains 6. Teaching concepts of benefit and risk 7. Disability, ability and education 8. Environmental ethics education 9. Moral games for teaching bioethics 10. Finding our own identity and its relationship to how we help others explore their

own identity: the essence of teaching? 11. Developing personal action plans for enhanced teaching 12. How to measure personal moral development in education 13. Review of indigenous values among the education curriculum in 47 countries of

Asia-Pacific nations 14. Integration of indigenous knowledge systems into classes and the curriculum 15. Analysis of the goals for education based on teacher’s action plans 16. How to teach about federal, state, community law and customs and United

Nations declarations and their implementation (or lack of) across the curriculum 17. Developing professional skills for bringing the best out of every learner 18. How to evaluate educators ethically and positively 19. Teachers and learners as agents of community change 20. Developing and nurturing environmental activism 21. Nurturing relationships between teacher, student and parents and protection of children’s rights

Essentials of Health Behavior (ESHB) (3 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to provide the student the groundwork for understanding, assessing, and effectively applying theories of human behavior within


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the practice of public health and to help the student understand how health promotion, education, and prevention programs ultimately focus on changing health behavior. The objectives of this course include to present to the student a general framework of the pertinent subject matters of health behavior and how they affect the public’s health through their interaction with the individual in the community. Subjects: 1.Behavior and moral choices 2. Social/Behavioral theory and its roots 3. Moral theory 4. Doctor-patient relationships 5. Informed consent and informed choice 6. Confidentiality 7. International norms 8. Neurosciences 9. Inclusion, altruism and beneficence 10. Behavior and education 11. Individual, group and tribal identity

Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Public Health (EBPH) (3 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to provide the student with the essential principles and foundations of epidemiology and biostatistics as applied in public health. The objectives of this course include that the student gain a working understanding of the principles of the general and basic understanding of epidemiological methods relating to biostatistics and public health. Subjects: 1. Introduction to Epidemiology 2. Biostatistics (probability; random variables and probability distributions; estimation

and hypothesis testing; sample size; study design; statistical measures of association among variables; experimental studies; survival analysis; and cause and effect, etc.)

3. Case control studies and Experimental Study Designs 4. Medical Genetics and Genetic Screening 5. Confidentiality and Privacy 6. Public Health Ethics for Professionals; International Genetic Guidelines 7. Prenatal Screening Programs and Population Genetic Statistics 8. Biobanking, Human Genome Project 9. Screening genetic diseases among the population 10. Population Genetics – Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP) Ethics,

indigenous populations and genetic histories 11. Infectious Disease and Disease Prevention

Global Public Health and Peace (GPHP) (2 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to provide the student with the essential principles and foundations of global public health public and for the student to understand how those principles related to general public health and their relations to peace.


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The objective of this course is to present to the student the concept of peace, international cooperation, disaster resilience, and how to measure a culture of peace and human dignity. Subjects: 1. Dialogues on war and peace and human dignity 2. Hiroshima and the Culture of Peace 3. Peace and peace-keeping 4. Roles of United Nations and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) 5. Maritime trade and peace 6. History and concepts of war and peace 7. Youth Peace Ambassadors 8. Youth as agents of change for peace 9. Peace and the brain 10. Peace and public health 11. Peace and culture 12. Culture of peace, human rights and human dignity 13. Spirituality and peace 14. Disasters and looking beyond them 15. The Global Peace Index

Healthcare Finance and Economics (HFEC) (2 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to provide the student with an understanding of the various finance mechanisms used in healthcare today and to understand the basic economic principles relative to the healthcare market and as it relates to public health. The objective of this course is to present to the student a general framework of the pertinent structures and analysis involved in healthcare finance and healthcare economics. Subjects: 1. General principles of accounting; financial statements; strategic financial planning 2. Economics; health markets; 3. Commercialization; the pharmaceutical industry 4.Vulnerability and social responsibility 5. Price of a human life; eugenics 6. Fertility, economics and assisted reproduction 7. Health care systems and global health; technology transfer 8. Environmental economics; market cycles

Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Health Care (IKSH) (3 credit hours) The purpose of this course include to consolidate and enrich students’ knowledge and skills in Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS)-based medical and health sciences; to examine misconceptions created and propagated by Eurocentricism on traditional medical and health care practices by inculcating knowledge and awareness among students and researchers of medical and health sciences on the efficacy of indigenous health care systems as knowledge systems on their own merit, i.e. with their own ways of knowing, knowledge production and value systems; and to prepare


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postgraduate students of medical and health sciences with a multi-inter-trans-disciplinary approach including involvement of indigenous knowledge holders and practitioners in research and curriculum delivery. The objectives of this course include to promote knowledge and skills among students of medical and health sciences on the holistic approach of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) as a source of innovation that supports healthy families and sustainable livelihoods for communities; to empower students and researchers of medical and health care sciences with knowledge and skills of preserving indigenous knowledge to ensure that communities receive fair and sustained recognition and, where appropriate, financial remuneration for the use of their medical and health care-based knowledge. Subjects: 1. Comparative histories and philosophies of indigenous medical and health care

systems 2. Chinese Medical Knowledge 3. Indian Medical Knowledge 4. African Medical Knowledge 5. Pre-Western American Medical Knowledge 6. Nature and patterns of indigenous medical and health care systems 7. Indigenous Knowledge Systems research methodologies in medical and health

care 8. Gender Issues in indigenous medical and health care systems 9. Comparative indigenous communication systems in medicine and health care 10. National and international policies on traditional medicine and health care 11. Intellectual property rights and traditional medicine 12. Concepts of equity and justice in traditional medicine and health care 13. Bioethical implications of traditional medicine and health care

Indigenous Traditions and Bioethics (INTB) (3 credit hours) The purpose of this course is to provide the student with an understanding of some of the thousands of indigenous traditions and their perspectives of bioethics. The objective of this course is to present to the student as much of an essence that can be transmitted in a learning environment some of the wisdom of indigenous traditions. Subjects: 1. What it means to be indigenous today? 2. Examples of colonization in past centuries 3. Survey of world views and cosmologies of different tribal communities 4. Biodiversity and oneness 5. Traditional healthcare and medical practice 6. Indigenous ways of knowing 7. Field work and project 8. Art and music around the world 9. Fusion cultures and mundialization 10. Language and moral reasoning


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Additional Information

Contact Us Additional information, including resources for application to the MPH program, is available at www.ausovereignnations.org. Applications to all academic degree and educational certificate programs at AUSN are completed online and reviewed a rolling basis. Please direct any questions, concerns, or suggestions to Dr. Darryl Macer, Provost at [email protected].

Nondiscrimination Policies It is the policy of the American University of Sovereign Nations (AUSN), in accordance with applicable federal and state laws, to not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, citizenship, age, sex, physical or mental disability, medical condition, religion, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, parental status, or veteran status. AUSN has adopted a racially nondiscriminatory policy as to student admissions, student scholarships, academic degree programs, and educational certificate programs. The nondiscrimination policies of AUSN cover admission and access to all University programs, events, and scholarships.

Documents

Master of Public Health (MPH)...indigenous health care systems as knowledge systems on their own merit, i.e. with their own ways of knowing, knowledge production and value systems;